


Earth

by Seagoatink



Series: Survival Isn't Pretty [10]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romanticism, death mention, sadfic, undertone of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-31 23:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6492592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seagoatink/pseuds/Seagoatink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She bit her lip. The driveway was partially in tact, being made of gravel made it easy to scatter but also hard to collect or destroy entirely. Cheska removed her shoes and socks. She was wearing civilian clothes both for her own comfort and to avoid being saluted, but growing up she never wore shoes or socks at her grandparents’ house. “I have a big family, I’m sure someone lived.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Earth

Earth was barren, even more so than when the reapers attacked. Charred ruins had already been demolished and what could be salvaged was harvested to build new buildings. Markets and small towns were second to barns and new mechs. People who weren’t assigned a barn for farming were living out of transport carts and sleeping on stacked cots. It was not difficult to find a place to work though. Everyone had enough credits to buy food and anyone who could work had a job to do when they woke up.

A shuttle had transported her to the farm her brother was working on, but she wasn’t going to stay for long. Admiral Hackett needed to see her in London the following day. Reports were still coming in for the living, for the dead, for construction. There was news on everyone and everything.

Not only did Garrus have to help Primarch Victus, but the lack of a decent biosuit kept him from arriving on Earth with Cheska as well. Every race had something better to use their resources on and biosuits were generally only for those who needed help surviving on their home planet. But without those biosuits and with their immune systems weakened from stress, visiting another’s home planet meant risking severe sickness. She had promised to call him as soon as possible, but meeting with her brother took priority.

Farm equipment passed by, heading for the giant silos that could be seen from a mile away. Cheska figured that was as good a place to start as the barn and followed the massive machines. “I’m looking for Shepard,” she said to one of the farmers, doing her best to carry her voice over the loud machinery. When the other woman craned her neck and put a gloved hand to her ear, Cheska repeated herself, “SHEPARD.”  
The woman was gruff looking, surely dirty from all the day's work and pointed toward the barn.

Joey was there, managing numbers and talking with someone who was clearly from in town. The people in charge of managing goods always looked cleaner than those harvesting. “How did it all go?” Cheska asked, referring to the service to honor the fallen.

“Not right now, okay?” Joey replied as he eyed over his datapad. “Oh, you’re asari friend…”

“Liara T’soni?”

“Yeah, her. You’re going to see her soon right? She asked for names on those alive with alien relationships-” Joey said.

“Bondmates?” Cheska asked.

“Other races too!” Joey protested his sister’s attempt at being helpful. “Anyway, these are the names of those alive. The death toll is still too high to get all the names sorted out.”

Cheska reached for the datapad. She had Garrus. She was lucky. Most other humans could not ensure the safety or livelihood of those they cared about and loved. But she was Commander Motherfucking Shepard and even in death she was brought back to life. “I’ll make sure Liara gets these names, Joey. Thanks.”

Instead of heading back to town, Cheska kept walking west. It was only midday and some good, old fashioned walking wouldn’t hurt. Not only that but there was no way she could convince herself to waste another shuttle to take her to where she wanted to go.

“Garrus?” She asked when it sounded as though he had answered her call.

“How’s your field trip?” He responded.

She laughed as she hopped over a small creek. “I think I had a lot more fun when I went bowling when I was five, but it’s not as depressing as I thought it would be,” Cheska admitted. “How about your scouting adventure with Primarch Victus and Dad?”

This time Garrus laughed. “Scouting?”

“Yeah, you’re like Boy Scouts right now. Their motto was something about being prepared,” Cheska said casually.

“I’ll have to put that on my wall, “Something about Being Prepared” -Commander Cheska Shepard-”

“Oh shut up!” Cheska giggled, knowing she would probably never hear the end of his teasing. “How’s the whole Boy Scouts thing going?”

He sighed. It must have been rough, but earlier reports claimed to have found most of the dead. “We’ve sorted out most of the hierarchy so far,” Garrus paused for a moment. “Where are you at -I know you’re on Earth, obviously but-”

“I’m headed towards what was my grandparents’ farm.”

“I didn’t know you were from an agricultural family, Cheska,” Garrus said, surprise rising in his voice.

Cheska nodded even though he couldn’t see her. She wasn’t far from the lot, and the sun would be setting in almost an hour. “Yeah…”

He heard the solemn tone in her voice and hesitated. Garrus had his sister and his father alive. But so far, Cheska only had her brother. “I… I -Do you want to talk about it?”

She bit her lip. The driveway was partially in tact, being made of gravel made it easy to scatter but also hard to collect or destroy entirely. Cheska removed her shoes and socks. She was wearing civilian clothes both for her own comfort and to avoid being saluted, but growing up she never wore shoes or socks at her grandparents’ house. “I have a big family, I’m sure someone lived.”

“So they could-”

“No, they were at the casino for the week. But they died together for sure, and I think… I know that’s what they wanted,” Cheska said, knowing what he was going to say. Following the driveway up the hill wasn’t as big a task as destroying a reaper, but it felt like it. “My brother and I would go down to the creek with our cousins and stick our feet in the mud looking for fish and crawdads,” Shepard offered to lighten to mood. “And we’d set up a tent by the corn fields so we could stay out later and look up at the stars.”

She laid down at the top of the hill on her back where the house used to be. The sun was setting, and a rainbow of colors spread across the sky. “What does it look like now?” Garrus asked.

There could not have been better timing to his question. The sky was perfect and out across the country side were tree tops backlit by the setting sun. Silhouettes of even more silos, barns and trees were across hills. Maybe a few mechs were still out, but not enough for her to be certain. Cheska snapped a picture and sent it to him.

He was silent for a moment. “I can see why humans were so adamant to save Earth,” Garrus said quietly. “Why did you want to leave if you love it so much?”

She laid back down in the grass and stared up at the stars that were slowly coming into vision in the sky. “Space was exactly what I needed,” Cheska admitted. “Earth wasn’t going to change unless someone made Earth change.” Garrus openly laughed. “What’s so funny, Vakarian?”

“You sure changed Earth alright,” he was still laughing.

As much as Cheska felt like crying over the loss of so many people, she could help but laugh along with him. “Well, I could say the same about you for Palaven!” Tears were forming in her eyes, but this was the exact reason she wanted to call him. She lived through the reapers and didn’t need to join her family any time soon. She had Garrus.

“You could, but you’re not going to,” Garrus defended.

“Oh, but I am: Garrus Vakarian, you made Palaven change,” Cheska declared in an authoritative voice. “Tune in at six on Thursday -Earth time- to find out how!”

“Stop that!” The turian chuckled in a low voice, hoping his father wouldn’t overhear. “It’s not like I’m all alone here! And you really did make it all happen.”

Then Cheska meekly whispered, “I also met you…” Her omnitool was blinking rapidly but she ignored it. 

“I’m glad,” Garrus muttered back, and she could almost imagine the turian blush in his military gear.

“My brother is calling, but, Garrus… When we get back to the Citadel, let’s just watch some vids together, okay?”

There was no reason for him to say no. All of her knew that for a fact. But part of her still worried that he would say no and find something better to do. Like watch her fail miserably at dancing in the club or something embarrassing like that. “You know, Shepard, you’ve had some pretty shitty, life-threatening ideas, but I really like that one.”


End file.
